1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data outputting apparatus which can be applied to an image forming apparatus, etc., having a box function capable of storing information such as image data in a sorted manner, and also relates to data outputting control program.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
A recently available image forming apparatus, one of data outputting apparatuses, has a function of once storing electronic data in a storing device such as a hard disk and then printing out the data at the timing specified by a user as well as a function of immediately printing out received print data or facsimile data.
Furthermore, in another image forming apparatus, the electronic data can be stored in a divided storing area called “box” every user or every group.
In order to promote effective use of the box of the aforementioned image forming apparatus, various proposals have been made or have been already brought into practice.
For example, for the purpose of convenience for the case in which conference materials are prepared by a plurality of persons and a person in charge handles the materials at one location, it has been proposed to store electronic data of the materials created by each person in a predetermined box and print them at the same time.
Furthermore, another proposal has been made. In this proposal, a print start time is set to respective boxes so that the data stored in each box can be outputted when the print start time has come.
Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-218120 discloses a facsimile apparatus in which a time for outputting facsimile data received at night can be arbitrarily set so that the facsimile data can be printed out by the set time.
However, in the case of the aforementioned proposal in which materials prepared by respective persons are gathered and printed at one location, it is required for a person in charge to watch whether all of the data have been stored in the box and execute the print operation when all of the data are gathered, which was inconvenient.
Furthermore, even if the technique disclosed by the aforementioned patent document is referred, in the technique, data will be automatically printed out at the set time even if all of the data has not been gathered in the box. Accordingly, the technique could not solve the aforementioned inconvenience experienced in the case of gathering all of data in a single box to print them.
In the aforementioned proposal in which a print start time is set to respective boxes so that the data stored in the boxes can be outputted at the print start time, there also was a problem mentioned below. That is, before the completion of an earlier initiated print operation of all of the data stored in a box, if it gets to the print start time for another box, the later initiated print operation cannot be executed until the completion of the earlier initiated print operation even if the data stored in another box is urgent and important. The aforementioned patent publication fails to disclose any solution of this problem.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.